Cuban immigrant surge on pace to more than triple 2015, 156,000 vs 43,000

More Cuban immigrants have arrived in the United States so far this year than in all of 2014 and is on a pace to more than triple 2015's count, according to a new analysis of the surprising surge.

In a review of the Cuban immigration boom, the Center for Immigration Studies said on Monday that some 26,000 had arrived at United States border stations by the end of February.

The 13,000 a month pace could suggests a yearly total of 156,000.

For comparison, 24,277 Cubans came to the United States in 2014. That grew to 43,154 in 2015 and is set to break another record this year. And those are just the numbers of arrivals at border stations, mostly in Texas. Some others arrive by boat.

The number of Cuban migrants seeking asylum at U.S. ports of entry has skyrocketed since President Obama took office — increasing six-fold since 2009 and nearly doubling from 2014 to 2015, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.